Andrew Bynum says Kobe stunted his growth

Bynum was sent packing from the Los Angeles Lakers during the off-season and according to ESPN, he still had something to get off his chest when his current team played his former team on Sunday.

“I thought it really helped me a lot obviously at first, because he draws so much attention it’s hard for guys to double team and key on you, so it helped me tremendously,” Bynum said. “Later, I felt I was able to get the ball more and do more things with the ball, so I could definitely see how it could stunt growth.”

Not only did Kobe not take issue with Bynum’s comments, he agreed with them.

“For sure, because when you’re playing with me you obviously have to sacrifice something,” Bryant said. “Same thing with me and Shaq. You kind of off-set each other to a certain extent. So, I mean, that’s true. When he gets back and he’s healthy, he’ll come out here and he’ll be the focal point of their attack and he’ll be getting the ball more and you’ll see big games from him more consistently.”

For the record, Bryant has always expressed a sincere belief in Bynum who needs to stay focused on getting himself right to play ball.